Hazard Stevens Elk Park at Tumwater Falls late 1800s

Hazard Stevens, son of Washington Territory’s first governor, Isaac Stevens, was an investor in the Olympia Light and Power company that operated a hydroelectric facility at the Middle Tumwater Falls on the Deschutes River in Tumwater. Hazard fenced in the area below the falls and installed a menagerie of elk, swans, and bears, to attract visitors. Pictured here are some of elk with the falls in the background.  

Late 19^th or early 20^th century photograph, Courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society, catalog C1961.137.18

Text © Deborah Ross and The Olympian 2022